Overcoming Shyness and Social Phobia: A Step-by-Step Guide (Clinical Application of Evidence-Based Psychotherapy) (Paperback)

by Ronald M. Rapee (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"...educates, coaches, and guides those who struggle with shyness or social anxiety toward achievement of a more comfortable lifestyle." -- (Andrew R. Eisen, 2000)

"Dr. Rapee's book is a must for every clinician's library." -- (Debra A. Hope, 2000)

"Offering useful tools for confronting the fears that inhibit millions of people experiencing problems related to shyness or social anxiety." -- (Robert L. Leahy, 2000)

Product Description
Overcoming Shyness and Social Phobia provides a detailed program for eliminating social anxieties based on the latest cognitive behavioral treatments for social phobia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 120 pages
• Publisher: Jason Aronson (January 28, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765701200
• ISBN-13: 978-0765701206
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,900 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

81 of 88 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp, lucid guidebook for overcoming social phobia, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

Rapee's book is short, clear,and simple, but it's a profound contribution to understanding and psychological treatment of social anxiety that focuses on every key aspect of treatment of this widespread, undertreated disorder. In a seamless, organized fashion, the author introduces perspectives and techniques that a social phobic can easily learn and practice.

This work represents a foundation which will power up and significantly strengthen the potential of self-help for shyness and social anxiety. It is firmly grounded in cutting edge clinical research and was published concurrent with a scholarly volume on which it is based.

Rapee's book may be used in or out of therapy. If the reader has a therapist who doesn't know how to relieve his social phobia, both client and therapist should get this book.

58 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Enlightening, but unbearably lowbrow., December 5, 2001

By A Customer

I am undergoing therapy for social anxiety. My doctor assigned this book.

While it does contain several useful insights and practical techniques, I found its writing style patronizing. Not that the author writes in a condescending way; rather, the vocabulary and examples appear to be aimed at someone with a junior high school education.

The fictional case studies are populated with simplistic patients, whose problems are resolved using very straightforward approaches. Too straightforward for my taste.

In discussing a traumatic social event, a fictional patient tells his doctor that he is afraid to go to bars with his coworkers because his hands will shake when he attempts to drink from his glass. The doctor asks him to recall previous similar situations, and whether his hands shook on those occasions. The patient concedes that sometimes they shook, sometimes they didn't.

Then the doctor points out that his fear of drinking in public places is based on a faulty premise (that his hands always shake in those situations). When the patient suddenly realizes that his hands don't ALWAYS shake, he's suddenly halfway cured.

So the examples were oversimplified. I can understand that. More bothersome was the occasional illogical leap employed to bolster fairly obvious observations.

At one point, the author tells us that if someone inexplicably breaks into laughter in our presence, we should not assume that they are laughing at us. Which is fine and good.

But he goes on to reassure us using statistics: Assume that there are a thousand of possible reasons that someone could start laughing. Therefore, the odds that we're the source of amusement is only one in a thousand.

Um, no. Just because there are n possible explanations, that doesn't mean that the odds of any particular one being true is 1/n. Sloppy explanations like this just erode the credibility.

Add to this the author's complete avoidance of clinical terminology (he spent a page talking about desensitization without ever once using the term), and what you have is a book intended to be read by troubled pre-teens.

Now having declared this book unfit for human consumption, it does deserve some praise. It contains some practical techniques to help you sort out your specific anxiety triggers and ameliorate them. And there are some genuine insights as well.

I simply could not abide the writing style and the occasional deficiency of logic. If there were a Psychology/Self-Help shelf in the Juveniles section of your library, that's where this book would belong.

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book to overcome social anxiety, November 8, 2002

By	"oscardelahoya" (BARCELONA Spain) - See all my reviews

I've never left a review for a book, but after reading this really helpful book I am in debt with Mr. Rapee. This is an easy to read book, short (116 p), that goes straight to the point. I've read 5 books on social anxiety and I can say that this is the most practical one, with tips that you can start applying immediately. There are cognitive suggestions to overcome your fears, issues about exposure (what he calls reality testing), and tips about improving your social skills. But remember that this book alone won't cure you: In my case, medication, group therapy, and aerobic exercise (yoga too) are other weapons I'm using to fight sad and anxiety. Good luck.